Login

Is Stevia Safe? (The Truth About This Zero Calorie Sweetener)

By now I’m sure you’ve heard how bad sugar is for you, but is stevia safe to use as a substitute?

Sugar substitutes are on the rise now that word has gotten out to the masses how sugar is making you fat and leads to many other health diseases.

Going through sugar withdrawals is real and finding a healthy substitute for it helps many get over their sugar addiction.

Stevia has become increasingly more popular amongst health aficionados as a sugar substitute over other artificial sweeteners.

The big question remains if stevia is safe for you or not.

Stevia has been used for centuries as a superfood in South America as a natural sweetener in their yerba mate tea.

Even Japan and Brazil have been using stevia as a sweetener for over 30 years.

Everybody seems to be on the bandwagon for stevia these days. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s 100% safe for every one to be using.

It wasn’t too long ago Splenda was being touted as a totally safe zero calorie alternative to sugar. It turns out that these artificial sweeteners are linked to weight gain, heart disease, headaches and more health problems.

It’s time to dive deep into uncovering the truth about stevia and whether or not this zero calorie sweetener will actually help you lose weight and if it’s safe for you to be using.

What Is Stevia?

Stevia is a herb originating from South America where the locals use the leaves to sweeten up their foods.

The stevia we buy at the store is the extract of this leaf, and it’s up to 200x’s sweeter than typical sugar.

The good thing about stevia is it contains zero calories and zero carbohydrates.

Unlike sugar it won’t spike your blood sugar levels after eating.

One of the big reasons why sugar causes you to gain weight is it spikes your blood sugar causing your body to release insulin.

This sets off a chain reaction of hormonal releases leading you gaining weight, type 2 diabetes and many more health problems.

The stevia leaf undergoes a manufacturing process since it’s so sweet it needs to be cut.

They use additional ingredients such the sugar alcohol erythritol from corn, dextrose and other artificial sweeteners.

This is why when you look on the back of a package of stevia it’ll contain other ingredients other than just the extract.

This should be one of your concerns when deciding which stevia to buy as these other ingredients could cause negative effects to your body.

Rebaudioside A (Reb A) is the compound in stevia that is the most extracted and responsible for the bulk of the sweetness in the leaf.

Stevioside is the other compound extracted from stevia but to a much lesser extent because it has much more bitter aftertaste than Reb A.

Is Stevia Safe For You?

After a lot of research and my own personal experience I’ve found the stevia extract we buy in the store is most likely perfectly safe for you to be using as a sweetener.

The reason I say “most likely” is from the conflicting reports arguing both sides of whether or not stevia is safe.

Eating stevia in moderate amounts, 250-500mg a day is most likely safe according to a 2 year study.

Although some scientists have went on the record saying it could be unsafe for pregnant and lactating women for periods longer than 2 years.

So be sure to talk to your doctor first before using stevia if you fit that criteria.

Now let’s go into the benefits and risks of using stevia extract as a sugar substitute when it comes to losing weight and health concerns.

Is Stevia Safe? The Benefits

Even though there isn’t an overwhelming amount of published studies proving the benefits of stevia there is still enough to earn two thumbs up for losing weight.

Most other protein powders use artificial sweeteners like sucralose. Sucralose has been linked to weight gain and more serious health problems.

The Best Stevia Brand

Trader Joe’s Stevia

As you can see even the Trader Joe’s line of stevia have additional ingredients in them.

The number one ingredient in their stevia packets is maltodextrin. Thumbs down.

Their powder form of stevia extract is better with only lactose as the only other ingredient.

But this can be of concern if you have an intolerance or sensitivity to the lactose in milk. Sideways thumbs.

Finally their organic liquid stevia is the best option with only de-ionized water and 11% alcohol as the additional ingredients. The alcohol is needed to have the extracted stevia in liquid form. Thumbs up.

Wholesome Organic Stevia Packets

Wholesome brand of stevia may be organic but the packets use erythritol. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol and is the number one ingredient. Thumbs down.

SweetLeaf Organic Stevia

If you’re wanting packets of stevia then Organic Stevia Sweetener by SweetLeaf will be the best option.

It has organic inulin fibers as the number one ingredient, which are a plant fiber beneficial to your gut health. They use inulin fiber as a bulking agent in these packets of stevia. Thumbs up.

SweetLeaf Sweet Drops is a good option even though it’s not organic. It does have quillaja extract, but this ingredient has beneficial polyphenols. Thumbs up.

Truvia

Just say no! I’d go with any other option on this page for stevia other than Truvia.

It not only has erythritol as the first ingredient but it undergoes a long manufacturing process.

Who knows what they’re really using for their “natural flavors” too. Two thumbs down.

Conclusion

Using stevia as a sugar substitute in moderate amounts is most likely safe for you and can even have health benefits.